Recent Reads: July 2022 - Read With Allison

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Find out what I’ve been reading and loving lately before you reach for your next book!

I fell into a bit of a reading slump in the last two weeks of July, so I did not finish nearly as many books I wanted to. But that’s okay because I think I read some contenders for my top ten books of the year!

I only have 13 prompts left on the Read With Allison reading challenge! I got lucky on the “author has your initials” prompt because I didn’t plan for this book to fit that prompt at all.

I had two Book of the Month picks each in July and I’m happy to say I read and enjoyed both this month. Let me know if you’d be interested in a monthly blog post about the Book of the Month picks and what I choose each month.

Related: Is a Book of the Month Subscription Worth It?

Alright let’s look at the six books I read in July!

Books I Read in July

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

The Villa is a psychological suspense about two friends who take a trip to a villa in Italy with a dark past. The story unfolds in dual timelines as you slowly discover what happened in the villa in the past.

I gave The Villa three stars because it did hold my attention enough to finish in a day. But the story felt clunky at times. There were so many obvious twists along the way, which I haven’t minded in Hawkins’ previous books, but for some reason it left me bored this time. I think the flashback POVs slowed the plot down a lot, but I also realize there wasn’t much to explore in the present day since the women were just at this villa trying to work.

Overall I’m disappointed because I loved The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls, but The Villa missed the mark for me.

Many thanks to the publisher for an advance copy of this book via NetGalley.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: A book featuring music

You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa

This was my July Book of the Month pick and one of the first thrillers I’ve been super excited about this year. If you like rich people drama and wedding settings, then I recommend giving this book a chance. I really liked that each chapter had an interview with a member of wedding party about the events leading up to the wedding day.

Join BOTM with my link and get your first book for only $5!

Rating: ★★★★☆

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: Author has your initials

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

So I did like this and I think it’s a good summer read for the beach or pool, but I honestly don’t remember a ton about this book three weeks later. There is a mystery and some rich people drama at the beginning, but overall I wouldn’t call this a favorite. It was entertaining enough though I would read more from the author. I did listen to this one on audio and found it easy to follow while doing other things.

Rating:★★★★☆

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Related: Best Audiobook Services 2021

Kill Creek by Scott Thomas

I don’t even want to waste a lot of time on this book. Kill Creek was a bit of a let down. Way too long. The characters sucked. It lost me after about 50% and, I’ll be honest, I started skimming to the end.

If you like Stephen King’s writing style, you’ll probably love this but I found it too descriptive and not very scary at all.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: N/A

The Night Before by Wendy Walker

This book was such a pleasant surprise and much needed five star thriller. A woman worries about her sister when she doesn’t come home the night of a blind date. I thought I had this book figured out and almost DNF’d early on, but I’m so glad I stuck with it because I was completely wrong about everything!

Rating: ★★★★★

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: Favorite Genre

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

Look, I’m going to be honest. I wasn’t excited or even anticipated this book because it sounded too similar to In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and frankly, Ware tends to have lackluster endings. But this book was incredible!

First, go into it with the mindset that it is a mystery, not a thriller. The pacing was perfect for the story and honestly 400 pages flies by because of Ware’s writing. I loved the dark academia vibes and the dual timelines really helped build the suspense for what would happened next. I loved every second of this book!

Rating: ★★★★★

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: Set in a bookstore

Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood

I finished off July with Under One Roof, which is a romance novella. I’m usually not much of a novella reader, but I thought this was cute! I was in a reading slump the last two weeks of July, so I was looking for something short and sweet to read. If you enjoyed The Love Hypothesis, then I think you’ll enjoy this forced proximity/hate to love romance story.

Rating: ★★★★☆

#readwithallison2022 Prompt: 200 pages or less

Did Not Finish

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

My library hold for this audiobook finally came in, but I listened to about 30% and realized I had no clue what was going on. I don’t think it was the book, so I will be trying it again as a physical book or ebook instead.

What books did you read in July? Did you read any books for the 2022 Reading Challenge? Let me know in the comments!